August 6, 2025 • 20 mins
If you’ve ever seen the name Voya Financial with your DCP or Plan 3 account and wondered what they do, this episode is for you. We look at the role of a record keeper: helping process transactions, maintain accounts, and support over 400,000 customers! We also look at what record keepers don’t do and how they differ from investment managers. Tune in to find out how record keepers play a key role in making your retirement accounts run smoothly.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS.
Well, if you've ever gotten an emailor read a news story from us
about DCP or Plan 3, chances are
you've seen the name Voya Financialin the last couple of years.
They are our current record keeper,but you might be thinking
what exactly is a record keeper?
(00:25):
So we're happy to welcome Maliaback to the podcast.
Malia, you manage the deferredcompensation plan and work very closely
with Voya.
Can you help us understandwhat a record keeper does?
Yes. Thank you, Jenny,and thanks for having me.
It's a really great question.
And I think before we talk about whata record keeper is,
let's talk about which of our customersuse a record keeper.
(00:48):
So anyone who is in
the deferred compensation program,whether you're actively contributing
a beneficiaryor someone who received funds as,
you know, from an ex spouse or something,and you have money in there,
you would have a relationshipwith our record keeper.
Likewise.
So any of our Plan 3s, you have theinvestment piece of your retirement.
(01:09):
And that is also with our record keeper.
And just to kind of give peoplea little bit of size and scale,
we have about a million customersjust shy of that.
And about 400,000 of those have a balancein one of our five DC plans.
So that's one of the Plan 3sor deferred compensation plans.
And DC is short for defined contribution.
(01:30):
So definitely a lot of people who deal
with our record keeper but like you saidmay not know who they are.
They get the letters or emailsthat might say Voya Financial
and they might wonder,what the heck is this?
So bottom line is they help us
assisting our customerswith their defined contribution.
So a lot of what they dois transactional stuff for our customers.
(01:52):
So if you are in your deferredcomp program and you want to increase
how much you're putting in each month,because that's what everybody here
should be doing is increasingtheir defined deferred comp, contribution.
You're going to have to do that with Voya.
You're going to give them a callor go online.
Make that change.
Likewise,when you're ready to take your money out,
(02:12):
you are at retirement timeand you're wanting to take money out,
initiating that withdrawal process,filling out the application
that you need to dothat is with our record keeper.
They take just shy of 20,000 callsevery quarter for us.
So that's 20,000 interactionsthat our less than 40 people in our call
center don't have to do.
(02:33):
There's no possible waywe could take that level of volume
on, in addition to doing all the stuffthat we do on the pension side.
So they really, really are bigon helping us with all of those parts.
I think one thingI wanted to add, oftentimes
when people think of the record keeper,they think of the investment accounts
and really what our record keepershave done and continue to do.
(02:56):
What Voya does for us is that they'remanaging the infrastructure,
the pipes of the system,for the investment account, the website,
the portals,the behind the scenes mechanics
that allow the tracking of investments,
the distribution of investments,the collection of investments.
(03:16):
That infrastructureis what they specialize in, and build out.
And there are a number
of recordkeeping companies in the countrythat that provide this business.
And DRS has worked with many of themover the past number of years,
but I know Malia one of the thingswe wanted to make sure we talked about
is what a record keeper doesn't do,or what a record keeper isn't.
Yeah, that's a really great question.
(03:37):
And, I think it's confusingfor a lot of people
because you're getting informationfrom both our record keeper and DRS
and you're like, “whoam I supposed to talk to about what
and who does what?”
And there's a lot of complex relationshipsin managing retirement plans.
And so I think the firstand foremost thing
I want to say record keepers do isthey are not our investment managers,
(04:00):
they are not financial advisors,
they're not providing advice,nor do they pick the fund line up.
That'sprobably one of my most common calls.
What is Voya doing or what is so-and-sodoing with my money?
And it's like, well, they're actually notdoing anything with it.
They're not the ones who pick thatline up.
In fact, they don't even have your money.
That's with the treasurer's office.
And so they are just kind of recording,quite frankly, record
(04:24):
keeping your transactions, your balances,the things that you're doing,
kind of all those on paper statementtype things.
So for us,
the people who manage the investmentprograms is the Washington
State Investment Board.We are very unique.
We're one of the few in the countrythat has a board that does that,
and they are the peoplewho actually pick that
line up that you get to selectthe different funds from.
(04:47):
Voya does not do any of that, nor doesany other record keeper that we've had.
So I think that that's very importantto mention.
And the other thing is,
they are not the oneswho are managing any of our plan design.
And what that means is the structure,the rules, how things work.
They are not the ones who are decidingwhen you can and cannot take
a distribution.
Nine times out of ten, that'sactually the IRS deciding that.
(05:10):
But they are not the ones who say thisis the process that you have to go to.
They're not the ones who are saying,hey, this is a TAP annuity.
That is all us Washington DRS.
We are the ones who are makingthose decisions
and determining the plan,structure and design.
And we tell our record keeperswhat they need to do.
(05:30):
That's really helpfulbecause you see these commercials
on TV for Voyaand they are a huge company.
They've got part of their company doeshealth care and all kinds of offerings.
You can even buy stock.
actually in Voya, their New York Stock
Exchange code is VOYAif you're ever curious.
That's an important distinctionthat it's like they're not the ones
(05:51):
that are picking the funds.
They're really just like you said,keeping the records.
And it's confusing because unfortunately,there are record keepers
such as Fidelity or Vanguardwho do both across their business.
So they do have a portionof their business where they do
exactly those kinds of things,
and then they have record keeping or,you know, Nationwide that does insurance.
(06:14):
Obviously, we've seen the commercials,
but they also do recordkeeping for retirement plans.
So even though a lot of them arethese really big companies
that do things like you said, Voyaalso does health savings accounts.
Some people may have themas the administrator of their HSA,
so it can be very confusing for peoplewhen they see these names
that they're used to associatingwith doing something else.
(06:35):
But for DRS purposes,
they are just doing our record keepingand a lot of the customer service as well.
One of the things I wanted to mentionthat we work with Voya is from
an educational standpoint,so I work on the communications team.
So we work very closely with them.
And sending out these email messagesthat you get about
maybe you’re
(06:56):
turning 50 this year, and nowyou can put more into your DCP account or
to all of those folks that are new to DCP,they get the welcome email,
and we work very closelywith them on what that message is
and how that's beingeducated to the public.
As well as another big onethat we do is sending out emails to folks
that are in Plan 3and letting them know that their plan does
(07:19):
have those two accounts, those twopots of money that you can draw from.
So they're a great resourcefor us to be able
to get this informationout to our members.
I think that's a really excellent point,and something that I think
is really interesting about record keepersa lot of people may not be aware
of is one.
A lot of them have these
kind of educational institutesas part of their business that they do
(07:42):
where they do research and find outwhat are trends in the retirement industry
and how can we communicate that to peopleand they do different campaigns.
And so you're exactly right.
A lot of it is education, helpingexplain things.
Other record keepers
will do webinars that people can attendto just learn about retirement in general.
And so a big part of their businessis that education piece.
(08:04):
And the other thingthat's really beneficial to us is,
you know, we're not their only customers.
They have many government plans.
In fact, there's some people
sometimes they call us confusedbecause they came from Oregon
and now they're here in Washingtonand they're like,
but I already had something with Voya,and it's
because they'rethe record keeper on that plan.
But it's like, well, I knowit's still Voya, but we're different. So,
(08:26):
that can be very confusing.
But because they do have all thosedifferent plans that they serve, we
get a lot of really interesting insights,too, of what other states are doing
and what works,and that helps us with our communication.
So they're an excellent resourcein that regard as well.
I think one of the things that people
oftentimes know about our recordkeeper is where they're located.
(08:47):
It's very odd to me, but oftentimeswhen I run into someone
out in the community and they learnI work at DRS, they're like,
oh yeah, I get those lettersfrom Connecticut.
Or I get those letters.
Our previous recordkeeper was from Colorado,
and they're like,I get these letters from Colorado.
And then I immediately know, oh,this is a Plan 3 person or a DCP question.
Like, that's where my mind goes.
And for whatever reason, I thinkbecause it comes in the mail
(09:11):
and so you can see a return addressor postmark or something like that.
So that is just somethingfor people to know.
And it's a helpful trickto know, like, oh,
this communication is comingfrom the record keeper
or this communication is coming fromDRS and Jenny, as you were mentioning, in
a lot of ways, DRS works with the recordkeeper on some specific communication.
But as Maria was saying,there's a lot of standard stuff
(09:32):
that they're also providing
and sometimes they have to providethat notice because the IRS requires it.
That was a really good point
because as you alluded to,these are multibillion dollar businesses.
I mean, these are not little,you know, a mom and pop shop of ten people
just running the books in the backend here.
These are big businessesthat have their own compliance departments
and their own rules and regulationsthey have to follow.
(09:53):
And sometimes they can be
a little differentthan what we would find acceptable.
And so.
Exactly right, Seth.
That's why sometimes you get these emailsor your statements and you may think,
why is it worded this way?
And it's
because they have these compliancestandards that they have to go through
in order to put them in.
A lot of people,
understandably so, very hyper vigilantabout fraud in today's day and age.
(10:14):
And it is very weird to get a letterfrom Connecticut about your Washington
state plan and then have a phone numberwhere the first thing you get is
a, you know, automated voice saying,what's your Social Security number?
And so I can see how that could feelreally uncomfortable to people.
And so that's whyI think this is a great episode for people
to listen to and for people to understand.
(10:36):
What is a record keeper.
Yes, they are our partnersin administering this plan.
They are legit.
They are sending you this statementand we've contracted with them to do this,
which I think, Seth,
you were going to chat a little bitabout kind of how that contracting works.
Yeah, they are our partners in this,but they are a contractor of DRS.
And in Washington state
we have to follow state procurement lawand every so often go out for
(10:59):
what's called the request for proposal,an RFP and rebid these contracts.
And so every few yearswe look at the entire marketplace
of record keepersand all the interested record keepers,
provide a proposal to DRSand we evaluate it.
One of the thingswhen I talk to customers,
I've tried to make it really clear
we are not just selecting the lowestcost provider.
(11:19):
We are looking at overall service.
We want to make sure that they have
call center hours that match with whatour business hours are.
We want to make sure that they areproviding a level of service,
so they're answering callswithin a certain amount of time.
And we have standardthat we set up with them.
And if they don't meet those standards,
they have to pay us finesas part of the contract.
There's a whole process.
And Malia and I
(11:40):
and our teams and a number of other teamswithin the agency work closely.
This is one of the biggest contractsDRS has, and we take it really seriously.
Malia, do you want to talk a little bitabout how the record keeper is
paid as part of this contract?
And just so people have a little bit ofa better understanding of how the contract
works in that way.
Yeah,I think that's a really good question
because again, I think especially withsome record keeper names out there,
(12:03):
very synonymous with brokerage accounts,
people immediatelythink that they're getting commission
or they're taking money based off that,and that's not how it works.
And so we negotiateas part of the contract
what our fees are going to be,which I'm going to shamelessly plug,
we're updating on our websiteso people can go read
all of that information out thereif they want to know more in-depth
(12:24):
and what I'm going to cover.
But they don't make commissionson participant investments.
They don't make money in that regard.
They get paid feesbased on the negotiated contract
for the services that they provide.
And so depending onif you're a Plan 3 or DCP,
you'll see that on your statementor adjusted in your share price.
And so that is something that I thinkis very important for people to know
(12:47):
is so it's just that exact feebased on the services that they provide.
Other than that fee,if you want an expedited withdrawal,
you might pay them an extra feefor that processing.
But other than that,that's how they get paid.
And to your point, they also want toprovide very good service to our customers
and make sure people are gettingwhat they need from them
(13:07):
because they don't want to get finedfor what they're getting paid,
they don't want to have to pay us.
And so it definitely helps createthat system of accountability with them.
But I think it's very importantfor people to know
that it's not like your typicalbrokerage account, where you feel like
people are trying to sell you or say,hey, you need to keep your money here.
It's not a commission based kind of thing.
(13:29):
All of their peoplewho are answering the phone calls,
they're not making any more moneybased on what you do with your money.
Same thing with all of us here at DRS.
And so I think that that'sa very important distinction
to understand,especially if you are in a plan
that has a record keeperthat also does that kind of business.
It's a really good point
because there is a cost associatedwith providing this service.
(13:49):
There's a cost associated
with having a DCP accountthat somebody has to build and maintain
that website and answer your phone callwhen you when you call in and,
and send you that payment,whether it's a check or a direct deposit,
there are costs associatedwith those services.
And so making sure that you understandhow those services are being paid for,
no matter whereyou have your different account.
(14:12):
Exactly right.
They're not volunteering to answer those20,000 phone calls every quarter for us.
They are compensating their employees.
They are a business and they're gettingpaid to do those things.
Or, you know, like you mentioned,they're East Coast.
And so a lot of them have to work specialshifts to accommodate our time zone.
So Malia you kind of mentioned obviouslyabout this relationship.
(14:33):
We all get together on a monthly basisand talk about issues
that might be happening.
Would you give us an example of whatsome of those recent issues
are that you've been working through?
Yeah, that's a really great question.
I'm kind of in a unique position.
I probably work with Voyamore than I work with DRS people.
But and so I want people to know,we hear you when you call us
(14:54):
and you have these complaintsor maybe praise,
because I do get that we're customerspraise and I share that with them.
But, you know,maybe there's some experience
you're havingthat's not going the way you think.
And so we look at that in my teamand we say, is this an opportunity
for education on the DRS side of house?
Because sometimes
we need to better understandhow they're doing their business.
For instance, it wasn't really well knownthat Voya actually can't email customers.
(15:19):
So if you call and say,
“hey, can I get a copy of my 1099emailed to me?” They can't do that.
They actually have to mail it to you.
It's one of those compliance rulesthat we were talking about earlier.
So helping DRS employees understandthey can't, but we can
and we can help you with certain thingsand understanding
kind of who does what is really somethingthat we work a lot on.
(15:39):
And then another examplethat I wanted to provide is we hear people
when they say things are confusingor they're unsure.
One of the things that I worked onwith Voya not that long ago is and we have
a great podcast episode about this, aboutwhat's a beneficiary versus a survivor.
And because a lot of these record
keepers really only dealin defined contribution plans.
(16:00):
That's like your deferred comp,the investment side,
things like a survivorare completely unknown to them
because that's very pensionretirement benefit speak.
And so having the opportunityto educate them and aware about
our terminology and when they can sendcustomers to us for help,
is another example of thingsthat we worked on with them
to help clarify and help people understandwho does what.
(16:23):
And so that way, when you call usasking the exact same question,
who am I supposed to talk to?
We can guide you to the right place
and make sure you're goingto get the assistance that you need.
I think it's just such a good point.
I looked up some data
before we started this episode,and I think I have this number right,
that Voya paid somethinglike 160,000 payments to DRS customers
(16:45):
last year,and some of those people may have received
more than one payment a year,not 160,000 people.
But, you know, with thatmany payments, things can go wrong.
And both Voya
and DRS work together to try to make surewe get those mistakes corrected.
Nobody is trying to pull a fast one oversomebody.
I think sometimes, especially peoplethat work in the public sector,
may get a little bit nervousor feel a little bit
(17:08):
jaded against private sector companiesworking with their retirement.
And so we work really hard with Voyato get those issues corrected.
That's a big partof what Malia and her team do.
They really are our partners because quitefrankly, we couldn't do it without them.
We just don't have the capacity
to take on those 160,000extra transactions or the expertise.
(17:29):
This is what these companies do.
You know, DRS pays pensions,
we don't record keep investment accountsand have never done that.
I think that's a really great point,because sometimes when there's
federal legislation, you know,like the Secure act that come out,
we actually turn to themsometimes and say, what are you doing?
How are you implementing this?
What education are you giving?
(17:49):
Because they have entire divisions
that just can work on thatand get that information and that data.
And they know they better get it right,because they have thousands of customers
that they have to implementthis one legislation for.
And so they are a great resourcein that regard, because we just
don't have the manpower or the abilityto do a deep dive at that level.
(18:10):
Malia, was there anything else you wantto make sure we cover in this episode?
You know,
we get customers sometimes you say, well,why can't I just talk to you about that?
Versuswhy do I have to go talk to someone else?
And we don't have access to their systems.
I can't see what they see,just like they can't see what we see.
So you really dohave to talk to both of us.
Sometimes you can't talk to themabout your retirement pension
(18:33):
because they can't even seewho your employer is.
They can't even seewho you're working for.
So you do have to come to us about that,just like
we are not legally allowed to do trades.
And so you have to call themif you want to move your money around.
And so there is a reasonwe're sending you to another place.
And it's because they're the oneswho are going to be able to help you.
(18:54):
So I just want to, you know, leaveon that note that we're trying to get you
to the right place, and you really dohave to talk to both of us sometimes.
Come to somebody,we'll get you to the right place.
If you got to the wrong place initially,and that's no fault of your own.
Some of this stuff is just a little bitconfusing, and that's okay.
Exactly right.
We try to make clear out there,our website has a lot of great
how you log in to them, howyou kind of get the information from them,
(19:17):
and we'll get you where you need to go.
All right.
Thanks, Malia. Awesome. Thank you.
Thanks for listening.
And now we'd love to hear from you.
What topics would you like to hear about?
What questions do you have for us?
Send an email to drs.podcasts@drs.wa.gov
that’s drs.podcasts@drs.wa.gov.
The Department of Retirement Systemsprovides this podcast as a public service,
(19:39):
but it's neither a legal interpretationnor statement of DRS policy.
References to any specific productor entity do not constitute
an endorsement or recommendation.
The views expressed by guests are theirown, and their appearance on the program
does not imply an endorsement of themor any entity they represent.
Views and opinions expressed by DRSemployees are those of the employees,
and do not necessarily reflect the view ofDRS or any of its officials.
Welcome back to Fund Your Future with DRS.
Well, if you've ever gotten an emailor read a news story from us
about DCP or Plan 3, chances are
you've seen the name Voya Financialin the last couple of years.
They are our current record keeper,but you might be thinking
what exactly is a record keeper?
(00:25):
So we're happy to welcome Maliaback to the podcast.
Malia, you manage the deferredcompensation plan and work very closely
with Voya.
Can you help us understandwhat a record keeper does?
Yes. Thank you, Jenny,and thanks for having me.
It's a really great question.
And I think before we talk about whata record keeper is,
let's talk about which of our customersuse a record keeper.
(00:48):
So anyone who is in
the deferred compensation program,whether you're actively contributing
a beneficiaryor someone who received funds as,
you know, from an ex spouse or something,and you have money in there,
you would have a relationshipwith our record keeper.
Likewise.
So any of our Plan 3s, you have theinvestment piece of your retirement.
(01:09):
And that is also with our record keeper.
And just to kind of give peoplea little bit of size and scale,
we have about a million customersjust shy of that.
And about 400,000 of those have a balancein one of our five DC plans.
So that's one of the Plan 3sor deferred compensation plans.
And DC is short for defined contribution.
(01:30):
So definitely a lot of people who deal
with our record keeper but like you saidmay not know who they are.
They get the letters or emailsthat might say Voya Financial
and they might wonder,what the heck is this?
So bottom line is they help us
assisting our customerswith their defined contribution.
So a lot of what they dois transactional stuff for our customers.
(01:52):
So if you are in your deferredcomp program and you want to increase
how much you're putting in each month,because that's what everybody here
should be doing is increasingtheir defined deferred comp, contribution.
You're going to have to do that with Voya.
You're going to give them a callor go online.
Make that change.
Likewise,when you're ready to take your money out,
(02:12):
you are at retirement timeand you're wanting to take money out,
initiating that withdrawal process,filling out the application
that you need to dothat is with our record keeper.
They take just shy of 20,000 callsevery quarter for us.
So that's 20,000 interactionsthat our less than 40 people in our call
center don't have to do.
(02:33):
There's no possible waywe could take that level of volume
on, in addition to doing all the stuffthat we do on the pension side.
So they really, really are bigon helping us with all of those parts.
I think one thingI wanted to add, oftentimes
when people think of the record keeper,they think of the investment accounts
and really what our record keepershave done and continue to do.
(02:56):
What Voya does for us is that they'remanaging the infrastructure,
the pipes of the system,for the investment account, the website,
the portals,the behind the scenes mechanics
that allow the tracking of investments,
the distribution of investments,the collection of investments.
(03:16):
That infrastructureis what they specialize in, and build out.
And there are a number
of recordkeeping companies in the countrythat that provide this business.
And DRS has worked with many of themover the past number of years,
but I know Malia one of the thingswe wanted to make sure we talked about
is what a record keeper doesn't do,or what a record keeper isn't.
Yeah, that's a really great question.
(03:37):
And, I think it's confusingfor a lot of people
because you're getting informationfrom both our record keeper and DRS
and you're like, “whoam I supposed to talk to about what
and who does what?”
And there's a lot of complex relationshipsin managing retirement plans.
And so I think the firstand foremost thing
I want to say record keepers do isthey are not our investment managers,
(04:00):
they are not financial advisors,
they're not providing advice,nor do they pick the fund line up.
That'sprobably one of my most common calls.
What is Voya doing or what is so-and-sodoing with my money?
And it's like, well, they're actually notdoing anything with it.
They're not the ones who pick thatline up.
In fact, they don't even have your money.
That's with the treasurer's office.
And so they are just kind of recording,quite frankly, record
(04:24):
keeping your transactions, your balances,the things that you're doing,
kind of all those on paper statementtype things.
So for us,
the people who manage the investmentprograms is the Washington
State Investment Board.We are very unique.
We're one of the few in the countrythat has a board that does that,
and they are the peoplewho actually pick that
line up that you get to selectthe different funds from.
(04:47):
Voya does not do any of that, nor doesany other record keeper that we've had.
So I think that that's very importantto mention.
And the other thing is,
they are not the oneswho are managing any of our plan design.
And what that means is the structure,the rules, how things work.
They are not the ones who are decidingwhen you can and cannot take
a distribution.
Nine times out of ten, that'sactually the IRS deciding that.
(05:10):
But they are not the ones who say thisis the process that you have to go to.
They're not the ones who are saying,hey, this is a TAP annuity.
That is all us Washington DRS.
We are the ones who are makingthose decisions
and determining the plan,structure and design.
And we tell our record keeperswhat they need to do.
(05:30):
That's really helpfulbecause you see these commercials
on TV for Voyaand they are a huge company.
They've got part of their company doeshealth care and all kinds of offerings.
You can even buy stock.
actually in Voya, their New York Stock
Exchange code is VOYAif you're ever curious.
That's an important distinctionthat it's like they're not the ones
(05:51):
that are picking the funds.
They're really just like you said,keeping the records.
And it's confusing because unfortunately,there are record keepers
such as Fidelity or Vanguardwho do both across their business.
So they do have a portionof their business where they do
exactly those kinds of things,
and then they have record keeping or,you know, Nationwide that does insurance.
(06:14):
Obviously, we've seen the commercials,
but they also do recordkeeping for retirement plans.
So even though a lot of them arethese really big companies
that do things like you said, Voyaalso does health savings accounts.
Some people may have themas the administrator of their HSA,
so it can be very confusing for peoplewhen they see these names
that they're used to associatingwith doing something else.
(06:35):
But for DRS purposes,
they are just doing our record keepingand a lot of the customer service as well.
One of the things I wanted to mentionthat we work with Voya is from
an educational standpoint,so I work on the communications team.
So we work very closely with them.
And sending out these email messagesthat you get about
maybe you’re
(06:56):
turning 50 this year, and nowyou can put more into your DCP account or
to all of those folks that are new to DCP,they get the welcome email,
and we work very closelywith them on what that message is
and how that's beingeducated to the public.
As well as another big onethat we do is sending out emails to folks
that are in Plan 3and letting them know that their plan does
(07:19):
have those two accounts, those twopots of money that you can draw from.
So they're a great resourcefor us to be able
to get this informationout to our members.
I think that's a really excellent point,and something that I think
is really interesting about record keepersa lot of people may not be aware
of is one.
A lot of them have these
kind of educational institutesas part of their business that they do
(07:42):
where they do research and find outwhat are trends in the retirement industry
and how can we communicate that to peopleand they do different campaigns.
And so you're exactly right.
A lot of it is education, helpingexplain things.
Other record keepers
will do webinars that people can attendto just learn about retirement in general.
And so a big part of their businessis that education piece.
(08:04):
And the other thingthat's really beneficial to us is,
you know, we're not their only customers.
They have many government plans.
In fact, there's some people
sometimes they call us confusedbecause they came from Oregon
and now they're here in Washingtonand they're like,
but I already had something with Voya,and it's
because they'rethe record keeper on that plan.
But it's like, well, I knowit's still Voya, but we're different. So,
(08:26):
that can be very confusing.
But because they do have all thosedifferent plans that they serve, we
get a lot of really interesting insights,too, of what other states are doing
and what works,and that helps us with our communication.
So they're an excellent resourcein that regard as well.
I think one of the things that people
oftentimes know about our recordkeeper is where they're located.
(08:47):
It's very odd to me, but oftentimeswhen I run into someone
out in the community and they learnI work at DRS, they're like,
oh yeah, I get those lettersfrom Connecticut.
Or I get those letters.
Our previous recordkeeper was from Colorado,
and they're like,I get these letters from Colorado.
And then I immediately know, oh,this is a Plan 3 person or a DCP question.
Like, that's where my mind goes.
And for whatever reason, I thinkbecause it comes in the mail
(09:11):
and so you can see a return addressor postmark or something like that.
So that is just somethingfor people to know.
And it's a helpful trickto know, like, oh,
this communication is comingfrom the record keeper
or this communication is coming fromDRS and Jenny, as you were mentioning, in
a lot of ways, DRS works with the recordkeeper on some specific communication.
But as Maria was saying,there's a lot of standard stuff
(09:32):
that they're also providing
and sometimes they have to providethat notice because the IRS requires it.
That was a really good point
because as you alluded to,these are multibillion dollar businesses.
I mean, these are not little,you know, a mom and pop shop of ten people
just running the books in the backend here.
These are big businessesthat have their own compliance departments
and their own rules and regulationsthey have to follow.
(09:53):
And sometimes they can be
a little differentthan what we would find acceptable.
And so.
Exactly right, Seth.
That's why sometimes you get these emailsor your statements and you may think,
why is it worded this way?
And it's
because they have these compliancestandards that they have to go through
in order to put them in.
A lot of people,
understandably so, very hyper vigilantabout fraud in today's day and age.
(10:14):
And it is very weird to get a letterfrom Connecticut about your Washington
state plan and then have a phone numberwhere the first thing you get is
a, you know, automated voice saying,what's your Social Security number?
And so I can see how that could feelreally uncomfortable to people.
And so that's whyI think this is a great episode for people
to listen to and for people to understand.
(10:36):
What is a record keeper.
Yes, they are our partnersin administering this plan.
They are legit.
They are sending you this statementand we've contracted with them to do this,
which I think, Seth,
you were going to chat a little bitabout kind of how that contracting works.
Yeah, they are our partners in this,but they are a contractor of DRS.
And in Washington state
we have to follow state procurement lawand every so often go out for
(10:59):
what's called the request for proposal,an RFP and rebid these contracts.
And so every few yearswe look at the entire marketplace
of record keepersand all the interested record keepers,
provide a proposal to DRSand we evaluate it.
One of the thingswhen I talk to customers,
I've tried to make it really clear
we are not just selecting the lowestcost provider.
(11:19):
We are looking at overall service.
We want to make sure that they have
call center hours that match with whatour business hours are.
We want to make sure that they areproviding a level of service,
so they're answering callswithin a certain amount of time.
And we have standardthat we set up with them.
And if they don't meet those standards,
they have to pay us finesas part of the contract.
There's a whole process.
And Malia and I
(11:40):
and our teams and a number of other teamswithin the agency work closely.
This is one of the biggest contractsDRS has, and we take it really seriously.
Malia, do you want to talk a little bitabout how the record keeper is
paid as part of this contract?
And just so people have a little bit ofa better understanding of how the contract
works in that way.
Yeah,I think that's a really good question
because again, I think especially withsome record keeper names out there,
(12:03):
very synonymous with brokerage accounts,
people immediatelythink that they're getting commission
or they're taking money based off that,and that's not how it works.
And so we negotiateas part of the contract
what our fees are going to be,which I'm going to shamelessly plug,
we're updating on our websiteso people can go read
all of that information out thereif they want to know more in-depth
(12:24):
and what I'm going to cover.
But they don't make commissionson participant investments.
They don't make money in that regard.
They get paid feesbased on the negotiated contract
for the services that they provide.
And so depending onif you're a Plan 3 or DCP,
you'll see that on your statementor adjusted in your share price.
And so that is something that I thinkis very important for people to know
(12:47):
is so it's just that exact feebased on the services that they provide.
Other than that fee,if you want an expedited withdrawal,
you might pay them an extra feefor that processing.
But other than that,that's how they get paid.
And to your point, they also want toprovide very good service to our customers
and make sure people are gettingwhat they need from them
(13:07):
because they don't want to get finedfor what they're getting paid,
they don't want to have to pay us.
And so it definitely helps createthat system of accountability with them.
But I think it's very importantfor people to know
that it's not like your typicalbrokerage account, where you feel like
people are trying to sell you or say,hey, you need to keep your money here.
It's not a commission based kind of thing.
(13:29):
All of their peoplewho are answering the phone calls,
they're not making any more moneybased on what you do with your money.
Same thing with all of us here at DRS.
And so I think that that'sa very important distinction
to understand,especially if you are in a plan
that has a record keeperthat also does that kind of business.
It's a really good point
because there is a cost associatedwith providing this service.
(13:49):
There's a cost associated
with having a DCP accountthat somebody has to build and maintain
that website and answer your phone callwhen you when you call in and,
and send you that payment,whether it's a check or a direct deposit,
there are costs associatedwith those services.
And so making sure that you understandhow those services are being paid for,
no matter whereyou have your different account.
(14:12):
Exactly right.
They're not volunteering to answer those20,000 phone calls every quarter for us.
They are compensating their employees.
They are a business and they're gettingpaid to do those things.
Or, you know, like you mentioned,they're East Coast.
And so a lot of them have to work specialshifts to accommodate our time zone.
So Malia you kind of mentioned obviouslyabout this relationship.
(14:33):
We all get together on a monthly basisand talk about issues
that might be happening.
Would you give us an example of whatsome of those recent issues
are that you've been working through?
Yeah, that's a really great question.
I'm kind of in a unique position.
I probably work with Voyamore than I work with DRS people.
But and so I want people to know,we hear you when you call us
(14:54):
and you have these complaintsor maybe praise,
because I do get that we're customerspraise and I share that with them.
But, you know,maybe there's some experience
you're havingthat's not going the way you think.
And so we look at that in my teamand we say, is this an opportunity
for education on the DRS side of house?
Because sometimes
we need to better understandhow they're doing their business.
For instance, it wasn't really well knownthat Voya actually can't email customers.
(15:19):
So if you call and say,
“hey, can I get a copy of my 1099emailed to me?” They can't do that.
They actually have to mail it to you.
It's one of those compliance rulesthat we were talking about earlier.
So helping DRS employees understandthey can't, but we can
and we can help you with certain thingsand understanding
kind of who does what is really somethingthat we work a lot on.
(15:39):
And then another examplethat I wanted to provide is we hear people
when they say things are confusingor they're unsure.
One of the things that I worked onwith Voya not that long ago is and we have
a great podcast episode about this, aboutwhat's a beneficiary versus a survivor.
And because a lot of these record
keepers really only dealin defined contribution plans.
(16:00):
That's like your deferred comp,the investment side,
things like a survivorare completely unknown to them
because that's very pensionretirement benefit speak.
And so having the opportunityto educate them and aware about
our terminology and when they can sendcustomers to us for help,
is another example of thingsthat we worked on with them
to help clarify and help people understandwho does what.
(16:23):
And so that way, when you call usasking the exact same question,
who am I supposed to talk to?
We can guide you to the right place
and make sure you're goingto get the assistance that you need.
I think it's just such a good point.
I looked up some data
before we started this episode,and I think I have this number right,
that Voya paid somethinglike 160,000 payments to DRS customers
(16:45):
last year,and some of those people may have received
more than one payment a year,not 160,000 people.
But, you know, with thatmany payments, things can go wrong.
And both Voya
and DRS work together to try to make surewe get those mistakes corrected.
Nobody is trying to pull a fast one oversomebody.
I think sometimes, especially peoplethat work in the public sector,
may get a little bit nervousor feel a little bit
(17:08):
jaded against private sector companiesworking with their retirement.
And so we work really hard with Voyato get those issues corrected.
That's a big partof what Malia and her team do.
They really are our partners because quitefrankly, we couldn't do it without them.
We just don't have the capacity
to take on those 160,000extra transactions or the expertise.
(17:29):
This is what these companies do.
You know, DRS pays pensions,
we don't record keep investment accountsand have never done that.
I think that's a really great point,because sometimes when there's
federal legislation, you know,like the Secure act that come out,
we actually turn to themsometimes and say, what are you doing?
How are you implementing this?
What education are you giving?
(17:49):
Because they have entire divisions
that just can work on thatand get that information and that data.
And they know they better get it right,because they have thousands of customers
that they have to implementthis one legislation for.
And so they are a great resourcein that regard, because we just
don't have the manpower or the abilityto do a deep dive at that level.
(18:10):
Malia, was there anything else you wantto make sure we cover in this episode?
You know,
we get customers sometimes you say, well,why can't I just talk to you about that?
Versuswhy do I have to go talk to someone else?
And we don't have access to their systems.
I can't see what they see,just like they can't see what we see.
So you really dohave to talk to both of us.
Sometimes you can't talk to themabout your retirement pension
(18:33):
because they can't even seewho your employer is.
They can't even seewho you're working for.
So you do have to come to us about that,just like
we are not legally allowed to do trades.
And so you have to call themif you want to move your money around.
And so there is a reasonwe're sending you to another place.
And it's because they're the oneswho are going to be able to help you.
(18:54):
So I just want to, you know, leaveon that note that we're trying to get you
to the right place, and you really dohave to talk to both of us sometimes.
Come to somebody,we'll get you to the right place.
If you got to the wrong place initially,and that's no fault of your own.
Some of this stuff is just a little bitconfusing, and that's okay.
Exactly right.
We try to make clear out there,our website has a lot of great
how you log in to them, howyou kind of get the information from them,
(19:17):
and we'll get you where you need to go.
All right.
Thanks, Malia. Awesome. Thank you.
Thanks for listening.
And now we'd love to hear from you.
What topics would you like to hear about?
What questions do you have for us?
Send an email to drs.podcasts@drs.wa.gov
that’s drs.podcasts@drs.wa.gov.
The Department of Retirement Systemsprovides this podcast as a public service,
(19:39):
but it's neither a legal interpretationnor statement of DRS policy.
References to any specific productor entity do not constitute
an endorsement or recommendation.
The views expressed by guests are theirown, and their appearance on the program
does not imply an endorsement of themor any entity they represent.
Views and opinions expressed by DRSemployees are those of the employees,
and do not necessarily reflect the view ofDRS or any of its officials.
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